World Bank disburses money for Zambia piggeries

Tuesday, 20 October 2015 11:25

The current funding is to promote piggeries in Petauke district of Zambia. (Image source: USAID | Southern Africa/Flickr)The World Bank has disbursed another instalment of funding for its Livestock Development and Animal Health Project (LDAHP) in Zambia

Distributed through Zambia’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, the money has gone to Petauke District Farmers’ Association (DFA) to help the association implement a pig breed improvement project. LDAHP is being implemented through the ministry to enable farmers to work together to access markets and ensure that they run piggeries as a business to help sustain their livelihoods.

DFA conducted a week-long training to equip its members with various livestock skills, according to the Zambia National Farmers’ Union. The union also specified in a weekly brief that the money is meant for the construction of piggery structures in the area. The training sessions covered topics on livestock-rearing systems, diseases and marketing.

The World Bank had set up LDAHP in 2012 and allocated a budget of US$50mn for the project. It aims to improve the productivity of both female and male smallholder farmers, and hopes to directly benefit 390,000 farmers in the eastern, southern and western provinces of Zambia. Smallholder producers in the targeted areas are involved in rearing cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and poultry. Another million farmers are expected to benefit indirectly from improved control of animal diseases, and value chain stakeholders will gain from increased availability of animals.